How do you get through a day when depressed?

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Just wondering if anyone has any tips for getting through the day when depressed.

I listen to loud music through headphones to try and take my mind off things. I eat too much crap. I try and read stuff on the internet and watch videos etc but I can't concentrate.

I over do it on the sleeping pills and painkillers which helps to an extent but there's only so much one can sleep.

I don't know if I get depressed like other people do but when I'm not feeling well in my head I go skating or I do loads of DIY around the house

Just anything to distract me really

I try to keep myself busy, stick to a routine and plan activities. And force myself to do them.

If you're a creative who wants to engage in hobbies but you're feeling burnt out, do it badly. Write the worst story imaginable. Draw something hilariously bad. Make the most cliche poetry possible. You'll likely laugh and it'll take the pressure off. Your art could be better, but it could be a whole lot worse. Oh and draw from the shoulder, not the wrist.

As for general functioning, be kind to yourself. I don’t mean that in a sappy way, I mean recognise that you're going through a rough time. You wouldn't attempt to run a marathon with the flu. Treat it like that.

I think of my days as having varying motivation levels. Am I at full-functioning? Mostly? Half? Barely? Or not at all? 'Not at all' days I call write-offs or being 'logged off mentally'.
I vary my expectations of the day based on my level.

Too depressed to cook? No problem. You can just get handfuls of ingredients and eat them at the same time. So long as they're safe to eat in that state. Doesn't have to be a full on meal. It can look like an absolute disaster on the plate so long as it's healthy enough. One pan meals are better when you don't feel like dealing with a bunch of dishes.

Ultimately, no one is going to give you a grade on how successful of a human or not you are. Self-help stuff tends to be fairly focused on perfecting this and perfecting that but it doesn't have to be perfect. Especially not when you're going through it. But it's usually better to do stuff, even if it's half-heartedly terrible, rather than not at all.

Thanks.

Keeping busy is always my preferred way of dealing with things, but quite often I don't have the energy or the enthusiasm.

When I was very depressed I used to get up reasonably early, have breakfast (cereal, it's easy), have a shower, get dressed in something comfortable and prepare to go out and do an activity. I live close to a mental health centre so I used to go there when they had things on, like crafts, movies, education about mental health and so on.

I also used to go and see if I could find a bargain at a second hand shop or get an nice drink somewhere.

I'm lucky enough to live near the centre of town so I can do these things. If I didn't go out I'd go on the internet, it's my favourite thing to do at home.

I have the same problem. If I don't have an errand to run or make myself go to the gym, I'll just eat crap, buy crap, and doomscroll. I should be too busy to be depressed or burnt out, but here I am.

At least I can volunteer this: go to the gym and do something relatively enjoyable there. But I do live closer to my gym than most people, so uh your mileage may vary

My bike is faulty and it will be some time before i can manage to repair it. To mitigate this I've walked about 30-40 miles this week (I hate walking), but I've still spent nearly £10 on bus fare and still seem to have spent so long sat in this chair staring at the same four walls for the same amount of time that i normally do.

I begrudgingly went went to see my Dad for lunch last week and managed to get through that OK. Hopefully he won't be relentlessly ringing now for a few months. I did speak to a friend on the phone for 5 minutes the other day so it was nice to have some interaction with /someone/.

Its back in 2008 now that I started to catch the bus to the city, aimlessly walk round for an hour or so, then come back - just as a way of passing the time away. I still do the same thing, except I tend to go by bike, and I buy more food which I can't really afford to do anymore.

30-40 miles in a week of walking seems like a lot. Does that not help at all with your feelings of depression? Exercise can be therapeutic for some people with depression.

Are you on any medications for depression?

If you have tried everything and you still feel uncomfortably depressed, I can only send my condolences. Depression can be a terrible thing.

I would enjoy the sun and the shower, just lying there and feeling my body getting warmer.

Doesn't help much. I walk to get from A to B. I've never 'enjoyed' it in that sense. I was going to catch the bus after I'd done looking round the shops (I've decided I want to buy a new folding bike), but it was a nice sunny day and I couldn't bring myself to be sat in here in darkness, so I decided to walk a few more miles and catch the bus later (I couldn't manage the last 6 miles, hence I got the bus).

I like exercise in general, but it has never helped on bit with depression.

I gave up the medication in 2021.



That's what I tried to do yesterday. I'm quite an active person though so I struggle to just sit there for more than 5 minutes.

I find doing things that make me only think about the here and now helpful

Like for instance doing a jigsaw puzzle where I can only concentrate on that specific thing and nothing else

It's just like a bit of escapism

How long were you on the medication for depression and how many different depression medications did you try?

Is your depression the mild or moderate type - do you get days where you cannot leave the house or get out of bed? That can happen for some people with depression who experience it strongly.

If you can get out and about and do exercise whilst feeling low, I would say that is a positive thing.

I took various SSRI/SNRIs for 10 years and came off them for good in 2021 (see my other topic: viewtopic.php?t=406046). Its almost 4 years now since I stopped them.

I do get days when I can't leave the house. I used to just stay in on those days, but now I tend to force myself to go out as a way of getting some fresh air and sunshine. Sometimes, it works wonders. Other times, it makes me feel worse.